turned out Beck was wrong. Walking heavily, the other man returned with the rope. As he held it up, she frowned. What kind of rope was that? It looked more like snow chains for car tires, interwoven with metal links and rods for strength.
Again she had to stifle a grin. They might have been able to keep her contained with a cement sarcophagus, but these puny metal chains would hold nothing.
“Silver,” the man said, holding them aloft so they clinked. “Extra protection.”
“Wrong species,” Beck drawled. “Vampires care nothing about silver. That’s us shape-shifters. You should have made the rope out of garlic.”
Marika’s mouth twitched savagely at his mocking tone. The tall man suddenly appeared to have an inkling of his fate. His nostrils flared in terror, and he spun for the door, making a run for it. Now.
Marika moved, vampire speed. Her former captor went down before he’d even taken a full step. Though by the laws of karma he should suffer, she ended his life quickly, ripping out his throat. Then, spinning before she’d even taken a satisfyingly deep drink of his warm blood, she launched herself at the other two captors, who’d frozen in shock.
Fat man screamed like a pig. Dirty man went down blubbering. Him, she killed instantly. Turning to the fat man, she began gorging herself, letting herself drink her fill of his rich blood as the life force ebbed from him.
“Enough. Let him go,” Beck said, yanking her up from her feeding.
For a moment, she could only snarl up at him. Then, regaining her focus, she shook her head, sending droplets of blood flying. “I can’t. I’ve bitten him. If I don’t kill him now, he’ll become a vampire.”
Beck frowned. “That one’s a shifter.” Pointing toward the braided one with the ripped-out throat, he moved closer. “He’s full-blooded, so he’s not dead. He won’t turn. You know our blood’s immune to your bite.”
“I killed him.” She shrugged. “Sorry.”
“No, you didn’t. I just told you, he’s not dead. Only silver bullets or fire can end a shape-shifter’s life. Look, he’s already beginning to heal.”
Standing, she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, leaving a bloody smear. “Then we’ll set the place on fire.”
“No.” Beck pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “He’s Pack. We have laws. I don’t want to be an accessory to murder. Let me call Pack authorities.”
Punching in a speed-dial code, he gave the information in short, staccato sentences. When he hung up, she regarded him quizzically.
“You didn’t tell them where we are.”
“Didn’t need to. My phone’s a special phone, with a GPS locater built-in. They’ll use that to pinpoint this place.”
“They can track you wherever you are?”
“Yeah.”
“That doesn’t bother you?”
He shrugged. “No. Why should it? I’m not doing anything I’d be ashamed of.”
To each his own. With a nod, she bent over her victim, who’d expired quietly. Though she hadn’t drunk until she was stuffed, she felt pleasantly full. Already, her veins began to buzz with renewed energy. “This one’s definitely dead. Let me check the other.”
A quick check of the pulse revealed that man, too, had expired. “I’m done here. Let’s get out of here before your Pack people show up. I don’t want to have to answer any questions.”
Beck followed her as she headed for the door.
Once outside, she took deep breaths of the cooling air, enjoying her mild buzz. She wasn’t used to the heady richness of fresh human blood. Like many other of her kind, she usually relied on blood banks or wild animals for nourishment.
Taking a deep breath, she turned to face her deceased best friend’s older brother. “I’m gonna run.”
Beck grabbed her arm. “Not yet. If you’re going to wherever you have our daughter hidden, I’m going with you.”
She hissed. “I’m not going there. I don’t want to endanger her.”
“You have to make sure she’s all right.”
“That’s one thing I know for sure. She’s safe.”
“I’d prefer to check in person. It’s time I met her.”
Panic clogged her throat. “I can’t take the chance. You don’t know who might be watching me.”
“I’ll make sure we aren’t followed. We’ll go together,” he said, in a tone that left no room for arguing. Behind his eyes, she glimpsed his wolf, pacing restlessly.
She let him see her fangs. “I don’t think so. I go alone and in the opposite direction. Dani is safe, believe me.”
For a moment, he considered her, his expression so stark she wanted to cry. Steeling herself, she lifted her chin. “I don’t want to fight you. Let me go.”
“Fight me?” He sounded incredulous. “Bring it on.”
Suddenly remembering, she felt heat suffuse her. When they’d been together in the past, play fighting had always led to passion. Something about the adrenaline …
Three years had gone by. They’d changed.
“I don’t want to fight you,” she said slowly. “I just want you to leave me alone.”
“We made a child, Marika. Dani. Now we’re forever tied together by her.”
“No.” Her protest sounded weak. He ignored it, as she’d suspected he would.
“We need to talk,” he insisted, as though by the strength of his voice, he could force her to give in.
He didn’t realize she wouldn’t, couldn’t. While she wasn’t ready for a physical altercation with him, she thought if she could fuel his simmering rage with her, turn it to hatred, maybe she could make him angry enough to go away. It was worth a shot.
“Oh, yeah?” Tossing her long hair back over her shoulders, she forced a smile before pulling her arm free. “There’s nothing to talk about. We were over long ago. And you don’t even know Dani is yours. I had lots of lovers. She could be anyone’s.”
He looked unconvinced and unmoved. But what did she expect? She’d always been a crappy liar. Juliet would have seen through her instantly.
“When we were together, you weren’t with anyone else,” he said, teeth clenched. “I know Dani is my daughter. I have a right to see her.”
“I have a right to keep her alive.”
He reeled back as though she’d slapped him. “I would never hurt her. How could you even think that?”
“I trust no one.”
“I don’t care. This isn’t even between you and me, it’s between me and my daughter. She has just as much right to know her father as I do to know her. Come on, Marika. You never were a fool. Stop this.”
She spun away, throwing words back at him over her shoulder. “Just leave me alone. Trust me, it’s better that way, for all concerned.”
Easily, he kept pace with her, fury simmering in his eyes, making them appear black. “No. Where is Dani? I want to see her.”
She didn’t answer, knowing no matter what she said, her tone would brand her a liar.
“You can’t take her away from me now that I know. I won’t let you.”
The rawness of his voice stung her. She knew that emotion all too well. After all, by their joining together, they’d inadvertently caused her best friend’s death.